Synopses & Reviews
This beautifully illustrated catalogue accompanies the first major museum retrospective of the painter Norman Lewis (1909and#150;1979). Lewis was the sole African American artist of his generation who became committed to issues of abstraction at the start of his career and continued to explore them over its entire trajectory. His art derived inspiration from music (jazz and classical) and nature (seasonal change, plant forms, the sea). Also central to his work were the dramatic confrontations of the civil rights movement, in which he was an active participant among the New York art scene. Bridging the Harlem Renaissance, Abstract Expressionism, and beyond, Lewis is a crucial figure in American abstraction whose reinsertion into the discourse further opens the field for recognition of the contributions of artists of color. Bringing much-needed attention to Lewisand#8217;s output and significance in the history of American art,
Procession is a milestone in Lewis scholarship and a vital resource for future study of the artist and abstraction in his period.
Published in association with Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
Synopsis
Betye Saar, born in Los Angeles in 1926, emerged in the 1960s as a powerful figure in the redefinition of African American art. Over the past forty years, she has injected African American visual histories into mainstream visual culture by blending spiritual, political, and cultural iconography to create complex works with universal impact. This beautifully illustrated book accompanies an exhibition of Saar's work, showcasing the extraordinary depth and breadth of her achievement. It provides multiple vantage points from which to gain a richer understanding of Saar's career, American art of the 1960s, feminism, contemporary art, and California culture and politics.
Copub: University of Michigan Museum of Art
Synopsis
"Saar is undeniably one of the most visionary artists to emerge in the last forty years. A master storyteller, she gathers together materials bearing the weight of history to create new memories, recast old myths, and incite our imaginations. And like Saar's work, the accompanying essays by some of the nation's leading scholars are spectacular meditations on history, representation, memory, and the significance of Betye Saar's offerings."and#151;Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams
About the Author
James Christen Steward is Director of the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). Deborah Willis is Professor of Photography and Imaging at New York University. Kellie Jones is Assistant Professor of the History of Art and African American Studies at Yale University. Richard Cand#225;ndida Smith is Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. Lowery Stokes Sims is Director of the Studio Museum, Harlem, New York. Sean M. Ulmer is Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at UMMA. Katharine Derosier Weiss is Exhibitions Assistant at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Table of Contents
and#147;LEST WE FORGETand#8221;: THE LIBERATING ART OF BETYE SAAR
James Christen Steward, Director, University of Michigan Museum of Art
ARTISTand#8217;S STATEMENT
Betye Saar
LOOKS AND GAZES: PHOTOGRAPHIC FRAGMENTATION AND THE FOUND OBJECT
Deborah Willis, Curator of Photography, The Smithsonian Institution
TO/FROM LOS ANGELES WITH BETYE SAAR
Kellie Jones, Assistant Professor of the History of Art and African American Studies, Yale University
REVERENCING THE MORTAL: ASSEMBLAGE ART AS PROPHETIC PROTEST
IN POST-WORLD WAR II CALIFORNIA
Richard Cand#225;ndida Smith, Professor of History, University of California at Berkeley
FROM FROZEN MOMENT TO SPECTATOR PARTICIPATION: ASSEMBLAGE AND INSTALLATION IN THE OEUVRE OF BETYE SAAR
Lowery Stokes Sims, The Studio Museum in Harlem
CATALOGUE ENTRIES AND PLATES (GROUPED THEMATICALLY)
--MYSTICISM
--ANCESTRY AND RITUAL
--RACIAL IMAGERY AND STEREOTYPES
--NOSTALGIA AND MEMORY
--AUNT HATTIE
--COLORED
Sean M. Ulmer, University Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, University of Michigan Museum of Art
Katharine Derosier Weiss, Exhibitions Assistant, University of Michigan Museum of Art
NOTES TO THE CATALOGUE ENTRIES
ARTISTand#8217;S CHRONOLOGY
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX